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Posts Tagged ‘Wine Club Gift’

Happy New Years Eve from the Wine Club Insider!

December 31st, 2008

Wine Club Insider here on New Years Eve 2008!

What better time than New Years Eve to talk about champagne and the other fine bubblys from around the world!

Personally, I found champagne to be an acquired taste. I wasn’t an instant fan, and since my only previous experience with sparkling wine (and I hate to even admit this!) was with such fine vintages as Cold Duck and Baby Duck (as much as I love them, my parents were obviously connoisseurs… not!).

I tried a few of the less expensive (read: “cheap”) so called champagnes, and much the same as drinking your regular “plonk” still wine, it didn’t blow my skirt up, so to speak. But then… ahhh. At the Millenium New Year, I opened a bottle of 1992 Dom Perignon, and I tell you, my eyes were opened!

Though some folks might say that Dom is over-priced/over-rated, I think it is still a great bottle of bubbles, and the ’92 was really awesome.

Okay… I’d seen the light, and now the search was on. Over the next couple of years, though it still wasn’t my top priority, I certainly tried my fair share of sparkles, enjoying many. By the way, www.1-800-wineofthemonthclub.com has a pretty nice club for $49.99/month for two bottle.

Okay… here are some of the snazzy champagnes I loved besides the famous “Dom”:

~ Domaine Merriwether (Oregon): Beautiful, soft champagne. One of the best I’ve ever had, especially for the price.

~ Champagne Duval-Leroy: Nice, beautiful bottle, good depth.

~ Taittinger Domaine Carneros Brut: Velvety. About $20

~ Paul Chenau Brut: This Cava is a Very nice Spanish addition.

~ Mumm’s “Millenium Cuvee:” Excellent. Produced for wine club members for the New Years 1999.

~ Domaine Chandon “Etoille Rose:” This unique wine is a Chard-Pinot Noir blend that is one of my favorites from the marvelous Napa house owned in part by the legendary Moet Chandon.

And now, probably my two faves of the past year or so:

~ Schramsberg “Cremant Demi-sec:” Cremant means “creamy,” and this demi-sec is a sweeter, softer wine using the rare “Flora” grape (a combination of the Semillon and the Gewurtz).

And possibly my favorite champagne ever…

~ Scramsberg “J. Schram:” served at White House dinners, consistently wins taste tests against Europe’s best, this vintage wine from perhaps the USA’s best champagne house is also one of my favorite wines ever. A bit pricey at $100, I could easily drink this every day, but will have to settle for tonight at midnight!

Schramsberg is found at www.schramsberg.com, and you’d be well served to give them a try!

I wish you all the best of the season, and hope you have a safe and happy celebration tonight. Blessings to all of you for a healthy and prosperous 2009, and may all your gifts be wine club gifts!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out for 2008!

California Wine, Fine Wine, French Wine, International Wine, Pinot Noir, Spanish Wine, Sparkling Wine, Sweet Wine, USA Wine, Vintage Wine, White Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Making , , , , , , ,

Another great wine shop wine club!

December 30th, 2008

Wine Club Insider back, with only two days left in 2008!

First I would like to apologize to any of you who have written comments to us. It appears we have been “hijacked” by spammers, and are getting literally hundreds of spam emails daily. We hope to get this sorted out very shortly, so we can answer your comments. Again, our apologies, so please bear with us.

I’d like to share a great online wine club with you today.

Vinopolis is a great wine shop right in downtown Portland, Oregon, and their wine club is excellent! They are at www.vinopoliswineshop.com, and unlike a normal club, they send you a monthly newsletter with the specials and sales they have, and you can order directly by replying to the email!

They have a great pipeline to tons of French, Italian, Hungarian, South American and other international wines as well as the best from the USA. Here are some of the selections from their most recent offering:

New Week – New Arrivals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brooks Runaway Red Pinot Noir 2007 ($16.95) $14.41 after sale discount

Dominio IV Technicolor Bat Tempranillo/Syrah 2006 ($19.95) $16.96 after sale discount

Sineann Red Table Wine 2006 ($14.95) $12.71 after sale discount

Elemental Cellars Melon 2006 ($14.95) $12.71 after sale discount

Elemental Cellars Pinot Gris 2007 ($14.95) $12.71 after sale discount

J Christopher Chardonnay Cuvee Lunatique 2007 ($16.95) $14.41 after sale discount

J Christopher Chardonnay Le Pavillon 2007 ($22.95) $19.51 after sale discount

Brooks Tethys Late Harvest Riesling 2005 374ml ($24.95) $21.21 after sale discount

Swanson Alexis Napa Meritage 2003 ($59.95) $49 after super sale discount

Swanson Alexis Napa Meritage 2003 MAGNUMS ($149.95) $119 after super sale discount

Turley Zinfandel Cedarman Vineyard 2006 ($39.95) $33.96 after sale discount Stephen Tanzer 90 points

Turley Zinfandel Tofanelli Vineyard 2006 ($49.95) $42.46 after sale discount Stephen Tanzer 90-93 points

Santa Rita Reserve Carmenere 2007 ($11.95) $9.90 after super sale discount

Trimbach Riesling “Frederic Emile” 2004 ($44.95) $40.46 in any mixed case Matt Kramer Selection

Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Calcaire 2006 ($34.95) $26 net special Wine Spectator 91 pts

Zind Humbrecht Riesling Herrenweg de Turkheim Lot 148 ($49.95) $35 net special

Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazetiers 2005 ($219.95) $186.96 after sale discount

Chateau Fontblanche Bordeaux Rouge 2005 ($14.95) $12.71 after sale discount

Bussola Amarone Classico 2004 ($69.95) $62.96 in any mixed case Wine Advocate 91 points

Felsina Chianti Classico 2006 ($24.95) $20.90 net special Wine Spectator 90 pts- TOP 100 2008

Quinta do Crasto Douro Red 2006 ($17.95) $16.16 in any mixed case

Complete Reviews Online
www.vinopoliswineshop.com

Highlight New Arrivals

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CV 2005 ($29.95) $25.46 after sale discount

Wine & Spirits 93 points- “Tamarack draws upon classic Washington vineyards, including DuBrul, Taptiel and Sagemoor, in this blend of cabernet (80 percent) softened with merlot, franc and syrah. As inky as black coffee when first poured, it has the richness of chocolate cake with a vivid red berry core that gives the wine its energy.” -W&S

Waterbrook Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon CV 2005 ($19.95) $16.96 after sale discount

Wine & Spirits 93 points- “Cool scents of tobacco, plum and pine support flavors of black currant in this elegant, well-built wine. It’s finely weighted, with a freshness that contributes to the wine’s length. Still youthful, it has power in reserve, and will benefit from some time in the bottle.” -W&S

Highlight Super-Saver New Arrival

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Maipo 2004 ($11.95) $7.70 net special

Just enough mellow tannins showcase the juicy black currant fruit. A Vinopolsteal!

Also available as a case-12 special- $79 net (that’s $6.583 / bottle)

They also have an AMAZING list of new Barolos on this month…

So, if you’re wanting to build your cellar with some of the best wines in the world at great prices, call Brian at Vinopolis, or email him at brian@vinopoliswineshop.com, and tell him Wine Club Insider sent you!

Cheers!

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Let’s talk a little about actually choosing a wine club

December 29th, 2008

Wine Club Insider back with a little side topic today…

We’ve done quite a bit of talking about wine clubs, but I just realized that we hadn’t really spent much time in talking about HOW to choose a wine club, so let’s look at a few of the key things to consider.

Many of you may have made the excellent choice to buy a friend or family member a wine club gift for the holidays, (or for yourself!). As a gift, it’s almost ideal - the lucky recipient can learn about wine each month, the gift goes on for the entire year (or perhaps a half year, or some other combination) and usually the price is divided up monthly, or better yet, by someone else. Hey, what could be better?

As you may have noticed, there are a huge range of wine clubs out there – some offer starting wines for people just learning about wine, while others offer selections of the finest wines available in the world, at hundreds of dollars a bottle. And, of course, there are many options in between, so how do you know which to choose?

Choose your price

Likely the first thing you should do in selecting your wine club is to examine your budget. Would you rather just spend $20 or less a month on a single bottle so you can learn about wines in an inexpensive manner? Do you have a bit more to spend? Choose how much you want to spend, and start narrowing down your choices.

What kind of wine do you like?

There are wine clubs on (literally!) every type of wine under the sun. There are California-only wine clubs, white wine clubs, red wine clubs, sweet wine clubs, port wine clubs, sparkling wine clubs… There are international, “around the world” wine clubs,  boutique (read: tiny) wine clubs you can’t find anywhere else, and mixtures of many of the above.

Before you choose a wine club, decide what you’re trying to learn. Are you trying to learn more about a particular region? To develop an appreciation of wine in general? To have fun tasting exotic red wines you can’t find in the store? To build a cellar? After you’ve got your budget, try to narrow down what kind of wine cliub program suits your wants.

Start looking at your choises

With the above criteria in mind, you’ve got enough ammunition to start examining the wine club choices out there, and believe me, there are a bunch! One thing that might work is to make a chart of some of your possible wine club selections, and compare what they have to offer (hey… maybe I’ll take a crack at this for you in the weeks to come! You can start with the list of wine clubs from a week or so ago) 

A few things to watch for

Get the bottom line ahead of time. Make sure you understand all costs before you sign up. Though most wine clubs don’t have sign up fees, some do. Ask about these and any other possible charges, such as extra shipping costs. Do they have certain allotments that you must purchase to remain a member? (This is pretty common in upper end single winery clubs)

If you’re going month to month, check and see if there’s a minimum commitment. Also, check on the cancellation and return policy.

Another thing I like to check is on is how long the average member stays with the club. Do many members leave after a year? What percentage are long-timers? This gives you an idea of how well the club tends to please its clients.

One of the other key things to get a handle on are any possible side benefits to belonging to a wine club, such as being able to reorder favorites at a discount.

Now, you’re ready to make a good start with an educated purchase, so get ready to sit back and enjoy your wines!

Wine Club Insider out!

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Suffering from the post holiday blues? Wine Club Journal can help!

December 26th, 2008

Wine Club Insider here, wishing you a happy Day after Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great and rewarding holiday… we certainly did, as we hosted all four generations of the family for dinner. The economy is, I think, causing everyone to cut back a bit this year, and so, on this “Christmas of Necessity,” as a family, we decided to give gifts with a more personal touch, whether homemade, or of personal value, and, I’ve got to tell you, it was a delightful day, and the leadup to Christmas, was much more relaxed.

For dinner, I created a “meat pie” with ground turkey, mashed potatoes and veggies wrapped and cooked in a pie shell, accompanied by Yukon Gold potatoes, sauteed butter lettuce and asparagus, all served over a nice red wine reduction.

And the wines… ah, some special treats, both from wineries whose wine clubs we have featured here at Wine Club Journal!

For the main course, we had two very nice wines, that accompanied the meal perfectly. The first was a 2003 David Caffaro Terre Melange, which displayed tons of fruit, but was nicely matured.

The main event of the evening was a 1997 St. Supery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was extraordinary! Dry, but not austere, tannins well defined… a marvelous wine!

For dessert, we had a Gold Digger Late Harvest Riesling to accompany a creme brulee-stuffed poached pear in a caramel and creme Anglais sauce… decadent! The wine was crisp, tasting of apples.

After dinner, a few of us shared a glass of Twenty year old Cockburn’s tawny port in my new Riedel “O” port glasses. Ah, what a wine! In all, a most excellent repast.

Today is one of more important days in the annual calender… my birthday. Yes, your Wine Club Insider is celebrating the 26th anniversary of his 21st birthday, and enjoying every second of it!

We’ve got about four feet of snow here, and I’m trying to keep on top of the shoveling, so after digging us out, I’ll get in a bit of a run or perhaps a “snow bike,” and enjoy the day with my beautiful wife.

Tomorrow, we’re going to chat a bit about port, and over the next couple of days, let you in on a few other wine clubs that I think you’ll enjoy.

Until then,

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider.

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Merry Christmas from the Wine Club Insider!

December 25th, 2008

Wine Club Insider here, slaving away on Christmas Day trying to make your holiday a little brighter!

I hope everyone had a safe, happy and meaningful Christmas, and I hope that at least some of your gifts were wine club gifts!

The last of our “Top Ten” lists is a list of blends, or Meritage (pronounced like “heritage,” by the way) wines.

Generally Cabernet Sauvignon based, these are some seriously good wines! Again, it is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s pretty good. I stayed away from the ultra old, rare Bordeaux blends, as we covered them in some detail yesterday, and also, I wanted to list wines that you could still buy. In most cases, I didn’t list a vintage, as being blends, they are almost always good!

Okay, here we go…

10) Arbor Crest Dionysus. www.arborcrest.com. Located in Spokane, Washington, Arbor Crest uses Columbia Valley Cab, Merlot and Cab Franc to make this hefty blend. About $45/bottle.

9) Dominus. www.dominusestate.com. The product of famed Petrus winemaker Christian Mouiex, it is a Bordeaux style blend from the famous Napanook Vineyard in Napa. About $100/bottle

8) Martin Ray Napa Valley “Synthesis.” www.Martinray-winery.com. Actually a blend of several great Napa vineyard cabs, this is pretty heady stuff! About $75/bottle. Their Legacy Club Wine Club is also really good!

7) Geyser Peak Reserve Alexandre Meritage. www.geyserpeak.com. Their top of the line blend, it is smooth as silk! I love this wine!

6) David Coffaro “Block 4.”www.coffaro.com. An unusual blend of 50% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 5% Pelourisin, 5% Carignan, 5% Syrah, 10% other varietals. They only make about 300 cases, and this is a shocker! Amazing fruit for only $32.bottle!

5) Pend d’Oreille “L’OEuvre.” www.powine.com. L’OEuvre means “work of art” in French, and this blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Malbec and Cab France lives up to its name! The winery is located in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho. About $29/bottle.

4) Jarvis “Lake William.” www.jarviswinery.com. A great blend from one of my favorite wineries. Runs about $65/bottle, if you can get it, and it’s a delight! I recently served it at a wine dinner, and the guests raved!

3) Opus One. www.opusonewinery.com. Located in one of Napa’s most majestic wineries, this proprietary Bordeaux style blend is the quintessential Meritage. Runs about $150/bottle, and is as well-crafted wine as you’ll find!

2) Montes Alpha “M.” From chile’s famed Colchagua Valley, this blend is awesome, especially the 2001, if you can find it! About $75/bottle.

1) Phelps “Insignia.” www.jpvwines.com. From Joseph Phelps great winery, this Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot and Malbec blend exemplifies everything that’s right about California wine making. Even at $140/bottle, it’s a steal for the quality and pure bliss of a good blend!

There you go, folks! Hope you enjoyed the quick trip through the blends! I wish you all the best on this joyous day, and I hope you take a moment to treasure your loved ones and give thanks for your many blessings!

Cheers!

Wine Club Insider

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The “Final Four” of our “Top Ten Wine Club Cabs for Christmas” list!

December 23rd, 2008

Wine Club Insider back, dressed in my tux for themas Final Four wines in our Top Ten cabs for Christmas list! It’s the 23rd if December, and as the weather is getting cooler, the winners of the “contest” keep getting hotter!

Here we go with number four…

4) Pepper Bridge ’05 Cabernet Sauvignon. $50. www.pepperbridge.com.

With a score of 93 from Wine Enthusiast, this is an awesome wine! ‘Deep and brooding,’ is how Stephen Tanzer described it, and I concur. We served this for a winemaker’s dinner a while back to rave reviews!

Their “Bridge Club” wine club sends out their best stuff a couple of times a year, and their winery is great to visit, located in the heart of the Wall Walla area.

 

3) ’98 Renaissance Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. www.renaissancewinery.com  $65/bottle

This is a penetrating, dimensional and truly elegant wine with great structure and lovely balance. I had a bottle five weeks back, and while it was quite drinkable, I think it will last another 10 – 15 years in the bottle. Renaissance is a great story, and one of my favorite wineries, and I’m going to do a whole post or two on them coming up soon. This could easily been number one or two!

2) ’98 Jarvis Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. www.jarviswines.com. $80/bottle. The Inner Circle Club.

In a winery known for amazing wine, this is as good as it gets. This is pretty close to the upper end of my self-imposed cost limit, and well worth it! I’ve already written a bit about Jarvis, but if for no other reason, see if you can snag one of these for the big dinner, and get on a tour. You’ll never forget either one!

Drum roll please…

Here we go with my personal favorite “under $100″ bottle of “Christmas Cab,” and it has a special place in my heart, as it was the first truly great wine I had ever tasted.

Ready? Okay, here goes… and in the number one position…

1) ’94 Silver Oak Alexander Valley. www.silveroak.com. Approx. $85/bottle.

Life truly is a Cabernet for the folks at Silver Oak, and of all their wines, this one remains my favorite. While the winery is sold out of this remarkable vintage, I know you can still get it on auction or on several wine sites like www.hookedonwine.com.

I love this wine. It’s just about perfect for drinking right now. As a matter of fact, I have two bottles left, and I think this will be my main wine for the big dinner… what better way to savor a great wine than with family and friends at Christmas?

Seriously, you just can’t go wrong with ANY of the wines on the list, so choose a few, and enjoy your holiday meal with friends and family! This is what great wine was made for!

Tomorrow, I’m going to share my “dream list” of cabs that you CAN’T get easily (if at all!), generally AREN’T under $100 (or $1000 in some cases), and that I only wish I had been able to taste. Get ready to drool with me!

Until then,

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

California Wine, Fine Wine, Red Wine, USA Wine, Vineyards, Vintage Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting , , , ,

The “Top Ten Wine Club Cabs for Christmas” list continues…

December 22nd, 2008

Wine Club Insider back with a few more of our Top Ten Cabs for Christmas!

Remember that these are Cabs that won’t break the bank, and are generally available (preferably through a wine club). It’s been fun looking through all my old notes, and going over the 189 cabs on our wine list to choose these gems. I really should have done a “Top 50″ to be honest… there’s at least that many that I can easily come up with that should be on this list, but, well, here we are, so let’s enjoy the ride!

So far, we’ve had the 02 Sterling Diamond Mountain Ranch in at number ten, and the surprising Columbia Crest 05 Reserve in at number nine.

For number eight, we move south. Way south…

8) 00′ Vino de Eyzaguirre de Mostaz from Chile. $16/bottle, International Wine Club.

The first thing you’ll notice about this gem is the sand-coated bottle, which is pretty unique, in my experiece, and makes a great candle holder when you’re finished the wine. The next thing you’ll notice is that the wine is great! Here’s another of the inexpensive wines that will knock your socks off. Parker loved this wine, saying it tastes like a much more expensive wine, and will be credit to any one’s cellar.

It really is something special, with that unique Chilean overtone of currant. You’ll love it.

Now we’ll switch hemispheres.

7) ’02 Mission Hill Reserve, Mission Hill Vineyards, Canada. $28.  www.missionhillwinery.com

Deep, dark, tasty. This joy from Mission Hills in British Columbia’s Okahagan Valley is another great deal. They currently have their 06 on sale, and even though I haven’t reied it yet, if it’s anything like the 02, it’s going to be great!

Their Proprietor’s Wine CLubsends out 4 bottles every quarter, but unfortunately, they don’t ship outside of Canada yet, so bring some back with you on your next trip north!

6) ’03 Isenhower “Tapteil Vineyard,” Walla Walla. $42/bottle, “FOI” Wine club. (www.isenhowercellars.com)

I’ve already talked about my friends Brett and Denise Isenhower, but I saved chatting about this beauty until now. This single vineyard wine is, in a word, huge! This is a BIG mouthful of wine. In my opinion, one of the best cabs Isenhower has ever made. I’m not even sure if they have any left at the winery, but ask around and see if you can scrounge a bottle or six… you won’t be disappointed!

… and my true love gave to me; five golden rings…”

5) If your true love truly loved you, they’d skip the jewelry, and get you a wine club gift from Geyser Peak Winery in Sonoma (www.geyserpeakwinery.com). There would be no better place to start than our number 5 wine; their 2004 Reserve Cabernet at about $30/bottle.

It’s a really deep red, with a good dose of blueberry and blackberry, and maybe a subtle hint of mint.

Their wine club is called the “Cellar Door Club,” and sends out three bottles quarterly. The coolest thing about Geyser Peak, besides being one of the top 10 rated tasting rooms in Sonoma and Napa, is that they really treat their members well at the winery when you visit!

Okay, back tomorrow with the Final Four!

Wine Club Insider out!

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Continuing our “Top 10 Wine Club Cabs for Christmas” list…

December 21st, 2008

Wine Club Insider back, with only 4 days left before Christmas.

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. It will for sure be a White Christmas here in the northwest… we’ve had a record snowfall over the past three days, with nearly four feet of light, fluffy powder creating a winter wonderland. It is a bit brisk however, with the temperatures hovering around zero as we plow out. I did sit in the hot tub with a warm mug of Gluwein last night though, and if you haven’t sat in a hot tub with the snow falling before, take a trip out and join us… it’s pretty magical!

Okay… back to our Top Ten Wine Club Cabs for Christmas” list.

Now, to clarify… as fun as it is, making any kind of “top” list with wine is hard. There are so many great Cabs out there that to make any kind of real, definitive “Top Ten” list is impossible, so this is, of course, opinion, and has to do with some of the favorites I have tasted lately. This is by no means a slight or a “Best of” attempt… I mean, how do you leave Caymus Special Select off the list? (Actually, I can say it fell outside the price range, but still…

And another point: Blends didn’t count, though I will make a “Top Ten Cab blends/Meritage” list for Christmas day. That’s where you’ll find you Opus and Della Vale Maya.

Back on task, then. So far, in tenth, Sterling Vineyards 2005 Diamond Mountain Ranch Cab.

Now, introducing our ninth place winner…

9) 2003 Columbia Crest Reserve. Columbia Crest Vineyards, $27. Summit Reserve Wine Club. www.columbia-crest.com

Yes, believe it or not, the wine juggernaut of the northwest has created a really approachable, tasty, deep offering, and at $27 a bottle, it is the hands down winner for value vs. taste. This is a wine that if you were tasting it blind, you’d say it was a big ole $100 Napa cab. Winemaker Ray Einberger has done an awesome job with all their wines, but this beauty in particular. Their winery, located in the Horse Heaven Hills (H3) appellation is also one of the most beautiful anywhere.

One thing about having a big winery is that you never get bored as a member of their very nice Summit Reserve wine club. Their quarterly shipments include some of their premium, limited production and library wines, all for $45 – 80 bucks a quarter… a great deal!

Back tomorrow with numbers seven and eight!

Wine Club Insider out.

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What wine club selection to drink for Christmas dinner?

December 20th, 2008

Wine Club Insider here.

With only five days to go before Christmas, you re rapidly running out of daylight to get those wine club gifts to your special oeniphiles! You may be down to the beautifully wrapped postcard announcing that “your wine club gift is on its way.”

Even if you don’t plan on doing the whole wine club gift, there are plenty of very nice single bottle gifts that will make any wine lover’s heart go pitter patter, and we’ll talk a bit about those over the next couple of days.

Today, we’re going to kind of set the stage…

Christmas, of all the holidays, is really Cabernet Sauvignon’s Big Day. It is the day, with the rich, savory meals that adorn the Christmas table, that the King of Wines shines, and so, for the next 5 days, Cab is King, and we’ll create a “Top 10″ list of great cabs that will be fitting adornments to any holiday table.

Okay… a couple of house rules…

1) It has to be a wine that someone can actually buy (even if it might take a little work)…

2) Without having to get a second mortgage, which eliminates some of the “cult” big names like Screaming Eagle, which cost more than some college tuitions.

3) Ideally, it should be availble through a wine club.

4) It has to be a pure Cab, or at least a majority Cab blend.

(FYI, on the 24th, I’ll post my list of “dream” cabs, which ignore the above rules… this will be a dreamer’s paradise! Stay tuned!)

With the house rules in mind, let’s get started on our list with the Number Ten selection on the Wine Club Insider’s Christmas Cab list!

…and the survey says…

Number 10:   Sterling Vineyards 05 Diamond Mountain Ranch Cabernet. $65/bottle. Available as a special request through the Sterling Vineyards Cellar Club.

Voted “Year’s Best,” by WIne and Spirits, this 92 point beauty has the cool feel of Diamond Mountain Reds, as well as a taste of Cherry. It’s been in oak for 3 years, which has mellowed the tannins slightly, and given it a nice, approachable feel, even though this remains a huge wine! Decant this baby for a couple of hours, and enjoy!

See you tomorrow with numbers 8 & 9! This is going to be fun!

Cheers!

Wine Club Insider

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Down to the last days to get your wine club gift there before the holidays!

December 19th, 2008

Wine Club Insider here with only 6  days left before Christmas, and only 1 more day to guarantee your wine club gift will arrive by the 24th!

Yup… for you procrastinators out there (who, me?) you’d better get off the pot and start moving. Of course, you can always do the postcard announcing that the wine club git is “on its way,” in which case, you’ve got almost a week left!

Since this is the eve before shipping deadline, I’d like to take today’s blog and summarize some of the clubs we’ve talked about in our chats so far…

*International Wine of the Month Club   www.winemonthclub.com

*California Wine Club   www.cawineclub.com

*Sterling WIne Club  vineyards.com">www.serlingvineyards.com

Parducci  www.parducci.com

Mondavi   www.robertmondaviwinery.com

*Jarvis (Inner Circle Wine Club)  www.jarviswines.com

Stags Leap Wine Cellars   www.cask23.com

Pine Ridge Vineyards   vineyards.com">www.pineridgevineyards.com

Silverado   vineyards.com">www.silveradovineyards.com

*Silver Oak  www.silveroak.com

Groth  www.grothwines.com

Opus One   www.opusonewinery.com

Neibaum Copploa   www.rubiconestate.com

*St. Supery (Divine Wine Club)  www.stsupery.com

*V. Sattui  www.vsattui.com

*The Wine Garage   www.winegarage.com

Domaine Chandon  www.chandon.com

Clos Pegase   www.clospegase.com

*Vinesse Wine Club   (Elevant Wine Club and Light and Sweet wine club) www.vinesse.com

*Gold Medal Wine Club   www.goldmedalwine.com

Cellars WIne Club    www.cellarswine.com

*Wine of the month club   www.wineofthemonthclub.com

*Gourmet Way   www.gourmetway.net

Flying Noodle   www.flyingnoodle.com

Wine.com    www.wine.com

*Townshend Cellar “Diamond T” wine club   www.townshendcellar.com

*Hooked on Wine   www.hookedonwine.net

Ambrosia   www.ambrosiawine.com

*The Bounty Hunter  www.bountyhunterwine.com

*Isenhower “FOI” wine club   www.isenhowercellars.com

The ones with an “*” are ones that I am or have been a member of (don’t worry… there’s more still to come… hey, I collect a lot of wine!), and after either tasting their wines (vineyard specific wine clubs) or getting good feedback on the others, I can honestly say I would highly recommend any of the fine establishments on this list!

Trust me… you can’t go wrong! Any of these will be a much-treasured addition to any collector’s cellar, or even better, your own!

Enjoy, and I’ll be back tomorrow!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider

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